UK's most haunted cities revealed ahead of Halloween

29 October 2023 , 10:43

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UK's most haunted cities revealed ahead of Halloween (Image: Getty Images)

The UK's most haunted cities have been revealed ahead of Halloween.

Bristol has been crowned the city with the most ghostly activity based on data gathered from Leonardo Hotels. The figures showed 62% of Brits believe in the supernatural and a third of those quizzed (30%) believed in the existence of ghosts. it was closely followed by 12% who believed in witches, 10% in werewolves, 9% reckoned vampires existed and 1% believed that zombies were a real thing.

A further 15% of Brits have also said they had previously had a supernatural encounter with this figure rising with age from 10% aged 18-24 to 33% for ages 65 and over.

15% of Brits have also said they had previously had a supernatural encounter the figures showed (Getty Images)

Over a third of Brits have also taken part in a ghost hunt or visited a reported haunted location whilst a further third would like to take part in such an activity in the future.

In the UK there were localised Google Searches for ‘Ghost in my house’ and ‘Ghost sighting’ with Bristol named UK’s most haunted city recording 730 searches per 100,000 residents. Belfast was second top with 601 searches, with Plymouth coming third with 592 searches. Brighton and Norwich were also included in the the top five with 571 and 551 searches per 100,000 residents.

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The most haunted UK cities

1. Bristol 7,100
2. Belfast 3,730
3. Plymouth 2,610
4. Brighton 3,150
5. Norwich 2,440
6. Newcastle 4,390
7. Glasgow 7,680
8. Nottingham 2,640
9. Sheffield 5,480
10. Exeter 1,360

The least haunted cities showed residents of Edinburgh can sleep soundly with only 101 Google Searches for paranormal activity per 100,000 residents. Liverpool followed with 162 searches, Oxford with 182, and Southampton with 167. But why do so many Brits believe in the paranormal?

Belfast was 2nd in the UK's most haunted cities (Getty Images)

Celebrity psychic Inbaal Hinigman said: “The older generations believe because, in their long lives, they've seen stuff that can't be explained. From spirit presence to miracle babies, the generation of grandparents has the life experience to back up their supernatural beliefs. Younger generations turn to the paranormal because the mainstream world is sometimes quite overwhelming. With the ongoing economic and political challenges sometimes it’s nice to step back and turn to the mystical instead, as a form of escapism.”

The popularity of ghost hunting has increase, partly because of the rise in the popularity of television shows and supernatural films. Inbaall added: “Ghost hunting is such an exciting hobby. It's certainly growing in popularity and drawing more and more people in recent years. TV programmes such as Most Haunted or Help! My House is Haunted, has made haunted locations appear more accessible and is probably the reason that this is becoming more popular.”

Belfast also came 2nd top in the ghost sightings (Getty Images)

Different of types of supernatural experiences can be less obvious. Inbaal said: “Some supernatural experiences are bold, and some are very subtle. Amongst the subtle ones, fragrance seems to be very popular. Smelling the perfume or aftershave of the departed, or a cake they were known for baking for example. Amongst the bolder supernatural experiences are lights flashing, objects moving, and the most popular of all - hearing the voice of the person in the afterlife."

Graeme Murray